Mononogahela man accused of fatally shooting wife ordered to stand trial for homicide
Dennis Vaccaro
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
The scene of the March 23 shooting death of Mecca Vaccaro at 533 Park Ave., Monongahela, in which her husband, Dennis Vaccaro, has been charged
The Monongahela man accused of fatally shooting his wife outside their home last month is claiming he acted in self-defense, but a witness who testified at his preliminary hearing Monday morning said he heard a pause between the two gunshots.
Eric Scicchitano testified that he was helping Dennis Vaccaro load up his truck with scaffolding on March 23 before they were preparing to do contract work in the area when Vaccaro’s wife, Mecca, came out of the house at 533 Park Ave. and began arguing with her husband.
Scicchitano said she struck Dennis Vaccaro multiple times and slapped his body looking for a handgun that he typically carried at all times. She then pulled the hood on Vaccaro’s sweatshirt over his head and dragged him a few feet.
“I’ll kill you. By the way, where’s that gun?” Scicchitano recalled hearing Mecca say.
“And she started beating on his body,” Scicchitano testified. “He ain’t even fighting back.”
Scicchitano intervened and told her to stop, and Mecca went back toward the house. But Dennis Vaccaro said he couldn’t find the keys to his truck and he went to the house to retrieve them. Scicchitano said he followed but stayed around the corner of the driveway when he heard more arguing before two gunshots.
“There was a pause between shots,” Scicchitano said, estimating there was a couple of seconds between them.
Scicchitano said he found Mecca lying outside near the door with Dennis holding the handgun a few feet away.
“He shot me, he shot me,” Scicchitano recalled hearing Mecca say.
“I shot her (expletive) twice,” Dennis allegedly said, Scicchitano testified.
Scicchitano called 911 and then tended to Mecca, while also telling Dennis to put the gun in the pickup truck and then lock it inside. Dennis then got a blanket and covered Mecca because it was raining, Scicchitano said. Mecca Vaccaro, 47, was taken by ambulance to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital, where she died.
Vaccaro’s attorney, Adam Yarussi, indicated during the hearing that his client acted in self-defense after being attacked by his wife. Yarussi asked Washington County Chief Detective Kiprian Yarosh whether Vaccaro told investigators during the police interview that he feared for his safety and that his wife had threatened him. Yarosh testified he could not recall whether Vaccaro told them that, prompting the defendant to let out an exasperated sigh while he appeared for the hearing on a television screen through video conferencing from the Washington County jail.
“Oh my God,” Vaccaro said as he shook his head in response to Yarosh’s answer.
Yarussi argued that his client was being attacked by Mecca in the moments leading up to the shooting, although Washington County Detective Frank Mysza testified that investigators found no physical injuries on Dennis Vaccaro’s body.
Mysza also testified that Vaccaro told them his wife had her left hand in her pocket as she came after him, prompting him to fire once. However, after she was shot the first time, her left hand came out of her pocket and it was empty, Mysza said. Vaccaro then fired a second time despite no weapons being in Mecca’s hands, Mysza said.
After listening to testimony during the preliminary hearing in Washington County Central Count, District Judge Mark Wilson ordered Vaccaro to stand trial on felony charges of homicide and aggravated assault. Vaccaro, 64, is being held without bond at the Washington County jail while he awaits his formal arraignment.